Apparatus and method for cutting slaughtered poultry into separate pieces

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cutting slaughtered poultry into individual pieces including a keel cutting station for severing a front breast section from the carcass. The station includes a first cutter for cutting a rear portion of the keel and a second, reciprocating cutter for effecting a second cut that intersects a cut made by the first cutter such that the keel is completely severed from the carcass. The movement of the second cutter is coordinated with the movement of a carcass supporting module so that the reciprocating knife remains substantially vertically aligned with the carcass supporting module during the cutting sequence. A size sensor is provided for adjusting the relative position of the reciprocating knife with the module to compensate for changes in bird size. A pair of interconnected actuators provide a three step adjustment for the reciprocating knife. An intermediate conveyor is provided for receiving the severed keel and transferring it to a primary conveyor. Movement in the conveyors are synchronized so that the keel is discharged into a conveyor bin on the primary conveyor that contains the other severed parts of the carcass so that all parts are reunited for further processing or packaging.

DESCRIPTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to automated meat cutting and inparticular to an apparatus and method for cutting slaughter poultry intoindividual pieces.

2. Background Art

Slaughtered poultry is cut or divided into individual pieces by bothmanual and automated cutting methods. When the birds are cut manually,an expert using an rotary knife makes the necessary cuts. Since skill isrequired, manually cutting the bird can be expensive and time consuming.

Attempts have been made to automate the cutting process. U.S. Pat. No.4,406,037, which is hereby incorporated by reference, illustrates anexample of an apparatus for automatically cutting a bird into individualpieces. The apparatus includes a frame bird supporting device to whichthe bird to be cut is clamped and stretched. The frame support formspart of a rotatable turret that carries a plurality of these birdsupport devices. The turret carries the supports through a plurality ofcutting stations that include stationary cutters. The supports arerotatable in a vertical plane so that the orientation of the birdrelative to the cutter can be adjusted to effect a predetermined cut.After passing through all the stations, the severed pieces of the birdare discharged into a receptacle or onto a conveyor for furtherprocessing or packaging.

The fast food industry has generated a high demand for chickens cut intoindividual pieces. A given fast food chain will normally specify arather narrow range of bird sizes that they will accept. Usually thebird size is specified by weight. By only accepting a narrow range ofbird weights, the individual pieces are expected to be substantiallyequal in size and/or weight. It should be apparent that, in order toproduce consistently sized individual bird parts, the cutting must beprecisely controlled.

To further complicate matters, certain of the fast food chains cut achicken into nine individual pieces whereas other chains cut a chickeninto eight pieces. When a "nine piece cut" is specified, a front breastsection of the chicken is severed prior to cutting the birdlongitudinally into two halves. This front breast section, termed a"keel", is considered the most valuable piece of the bird and cancommand two or three times the price of the other chicken parts. Forthis reason, this section must be very precisely cut in order tomaximize its weight without causing undesirable portions of the breastto be included.

The fast food chains that require the "nine piece cut" have placedrather stringent size and weight requirements on the "keel". As aconsequence, chickens destined for the fast food market are often cutmanually in order to comply with the rigid specification whereaschickens earmarked for the general consumer are cut on automated cuttingequipment. It should be apparent that manually cutting chickens is laborintensive and can increase the overall processing costs significantly.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a new and improved apparatus and methodfor automatically cutting slaughtered poultry into individual pieces. Inparticular, the present invention provides a system and cutting methodfor automatically cutting slaughtered birds such as chickens into eithereight or nine pieces. Birds processed using the present invention meetcurrent specifications issued by the fast food industry.

The poultry cutting system includes a rotating, turret-like assemblythat carries one or more bird support modules. The bird to be cut isplaced on the module at a loading station. In the exemplary embodiment,the turret assembly continuously rotates and the bird support modulesare loaded while in motion. Each module is operative to clamp andstretch the bird in preparation for the cutting operation. The parts ofthe bird are severed at cutting stations spaced about or around theturret assembly and located in the circular path of the support modules.In order to achieve the various cuts, the module itself is rotatable, ina vertical plane, about an axis that is oriented radially with respectto the turret assembly. A camming mechanism forming part of theapparatus is operative to unlock, rotate and relock the position of themodule in order to orient a certain portion of the bird to be cut inalignment with a knife at a cutting station. A complete and detaileddescription of a bird support module and camming mechanism can be foundin U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,437 which, as indicated above, is herebyincorporated by reference.

According to the disclosed cutting method, the bird support modulecarries the bird through various cutting stations, each of which includeone or more knives positioned to sever a selected portion of the bird asit is carried past the knife by the support module.

When the bird is to be cut into nine pieces, one of the cutting stationssevers a center section of the breast "or keel". In accordance with theinvention, the keel cutting process is conducted in two steps bypreferably two knives that operate to effect two individual butintersecting cuts, that commence from opposite ends of the keel. Thefirst cutting device, makes a cut at a predetermined angle commencing atthe rear of the keel and extending towards the front end of the bird.The second cutting device makes a cut that commences at the front of thekeel and continues at a predetermined angle towards the rear of thebird, intersecting the first cut thereby severing the keel from thebird.

In the preferred embodiment, the first cut is achieved by a stationarycutter having a rotating knife. The cutter is oriented so that the knifeis positioned at a predetermined angle in the path of module. As thebird is carried (by the module) past the rotating knife, the first cutis made.

The bird is then carried past a second knife. Unlike the first knifehowever, the second knife is part of a reciprocally movable cutter. Thecutter, which also includes a rotating knife, is normally maintained ina parked position at which the cutting knife is spaced from the path ofthe bird. When the bird support module reaches a predetermined positionwith respect to the second cutter, the cutter is actuated to drive theknife towards and away from the chicken in order to effect the secondcut to completely sever the keel from the rest of the bird.

Since in the preferred embodiment, the turret assembly continues torotate throughout the cutting operations, in the illustrated embodiment,the second cutter is moved towards and away from the bird along anarcuate path. With the disclosed arrangement, the movement of the cutteris coordinated with the movement of the turret assembly, so that thepath of movement of the knife is approximately rectilinear with respectto the moving module. In other words, the center of the rotating knifeis approximately fixed with respect to the center line of the bird beingcut.

The disclosed keel cutting apparatus and method has been found toprovide an extremely accurate and consistent cut. It is believed birdscut with this method, will meet all current cutting specifications nowpromulgated in the fast food industry.

According to a feature of the invention, the cutting system includes asize sensor for determining the size of the bird to be cut. Since thebird is normally positioned on the module with the keel extendingoutwardly, variations in bird sizes will change the space relationshipbetween the keel and keel cutting knives. In the preferred andillustrated embodiment the first cutter is positioned so that thecutting knife extends into the path of the moving module sufficiently tocut even the smallest expected bird.

The second cutter is movable to accommodate variations in bird size. Inthe preferred arrangement, the rotating knife is mounted to a spindlewhich is slidably held by a spindle housing. An actuating systemcontrolled by a sensor adjusts the position of the spindle within thespindle housing thus changing the position of the rotating knife in thebird processing path. In the preferred and illustrated embodiment, theknife is moved between three discrete positions: an inner position, anouter position, and an intermediate position. According to this feature,movement in the spindle is achieved through an actuator assembly thatincludes a pair of actuators coupled together. When both actuators arede-energized, the rotating knife is located at the innermost position.When both actuators are energized the rotating knife is positioned tothe outermost position and when one of the actuators is energized andthe other de-energized, the knife is located at the intermediateposition.

To achieve synchronization of the cutter with the rotating turret, theturret drive motor and the cutter actuation motor are synchronized sothat changes in rotational speed of either motor cause the speed of theother motor to change appropriately so that the motion of the cutterremains coordinated with the movement of the bird through the cuttingstation.

According to another feature of the invention, the second cutter isoriented so that the rotational axis of the rotating knife is directedradially with respect to the rotational axis of the turret assembly. Inaddition, the pivotal axis about which the cutter is reciprocated, ispreferably in the range of 16° with respect to a rotational plane of theturret assembly. In the preferred system, the bird is held verticallywith the legs uppermost, as it passes through the keel cutting station.

According to another feature of the invention, the bird is severed inhalves at a cutting station that includes a rotating knife positionedsuch that its rotational plane is parallel to the rotational plane ofthe turret assembly. The module and hence the bird is rotated so thatthe head end of the bird is forwardly and enters the cutting stationfirst. It has been found that effecting the longitudinal cut from thehead end to the tail of the bird provides a more uniform and reliablecut.

According to still another feature of the invention, tension in thebreast area of the bird is released prior to effecting the keel cut. Inthe preferred embodiment, this is achieved by severing the wings priorto entering a keel cutting station. Alternately, the clamping membersused to clamp the wings to the module can be released to relieve thetension should it be desirable to cut the wings after the keel cuttingstep.

After the bird has passed through the various cutting stations, themodule ultimately arrives at an unloading station at which the severedparts are released from the module and drop to a receptacle. In thepreferred and illustrated embodiment, the parts drop onto a conveyorwhich transports the parts to a remote location for bagging or otheroperations. As described above, during the keel cutting operation, thekeel drops from the bird and is thus separated from the rest of thepieces. In accordance with the invention, the keel drops onto anintermediate conveyor which is coordinated with the main conveyor. Withthe present invention, the intermediate conveyor transports the keel tothe main conveyor and is synchronized such that the keel is reunitedwith the other parts of the bird so that all nine pieces can be packagedtogether.

Additional features of the invention will become apparent and a fullerunderstanding obtained by reading the following detailed descriptionmade in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view which illustrates, somewhat schematically, apoultry harvesting system including a bird cutting apparatus, apackaging apparatus and a conveyor for conveying processed birds to thepackaging machine;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate schematically a method for processingslaughtered poultry in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views, shown schematically, of a first and secondcutter, respectively, used in severing a front breast section of a bird,constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view as seen from the plane indicated by the line 7--7in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view as seen from the plane indicated bythe line 8--8 in FIG. 6, and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of an alignment mechanism used inmaking a longitudinal cut to separate the bird into two halves.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the overall construction of a poultryharvesting system embodying the present invention. The system includes apoultry cutting machine 10 for automatically cutting a bird intoseparate pieces. The cut pieces are discharged at an unloading station,indicated by the reference character 12, that includes a funnel shapedstructure 14, for guiding the parts onto a primary conveyor 16. Thepoultry parts are then conveyed to a packaging apparatus indicatedgenerally by the reference character 18. An example of a packagingapparatus is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 688,696, filedconcurrently herewith entitled Packaging Apparatus and Method, which ishereby incorporated by reference. As seen best in FIG. 2, the system ismodular and the individual units are movable (via casters 20, 22) tofacilitate maintenance and cleaning of the various components.

The poultry cutting machine 10 is circular in construction and includesone or more bird holding modules 24 to which a slaughtered bird issecured and stretched for processing through the machine 10. An exampleof such a holding and stretching device is shown in U.S. Pat. No.4,406,037, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

To facilitate the explanation of the present invention, the holdingmodule 24 is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 3 and 4. As explained inthe above referenced patent, the modules are rotatably supported byradial arms forming part of the poultry cutting machine 10. In effect,the machine comprises a turret like assembly, preferably including aplurality of radial arms each supporting one of the modules 24. In theillustrated machine 10, the turret rotates about an axis 26, in theclockwise direction indicated by the direction arrow 28 in FIG. 1. Acamming mechanism rotates the modules to predetermined orientations sothat certain chicken parts are aligned with a cutting mechanism locatedalong the path of movement of the module. As seen in FIG. 3, each module24 is rotatable in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction,about a transverse axis 29. The cutting sequence is illustratedschematically in FIG. 4. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the generalorientation of the bird holding module 24 and in the preferredembodiment, the bird is mounted upside down until its back bone is heldagainst the face labeled "5" and with the breast extending outwardlyfrom the module.

In particular, the bird to be processed is mounted or hung onto a moduleat a loading station 30, by an operator. After loading, the module 24 islocated in a vertical orientation with the side labeled "1" uppermost.The module is then conveyed to a locking position 32 at which astretching and clamping mechanism forming part of the module is operatedto stretch and clamp the bird to the module.

The module then travels to a first wing cutting station 34. Prior toarriving at the station 34 the module is rotated about the axis 29 toalign a wing joint with a knife 36. Preferably, the knife 36 is formedby a rotating blade driven by a suitable motor. In the illustratedapparatus, the module is angularly positioned so that the wing joint isparallel and aligned with a plane of rotation of the knife 36. Themodule then travels to a second wing cutting station 38. Prior toarriving at the station, the module 24 is again rotated to align theother wing joint with a second rotating knife 39.

In accordance with the preferred method and apparatus, a front breastsection or "keel" is severed from the bird at the next cutting station,when the bird is to be cut into nine pieces. When the "nine piece cut"is being employed, the module travels through a size monitoring station40 which determines the size of the bird and adjusts knives at the keelcutting station, indicated generally by the reference character 42. Theoperation of the keel cutting mechanism will be described in detailbelow. The severed keel drops from the bird at the keel cutting station42 onto an intermediate conveyor 46, shown best in FIG. 1. A funnel 48at the keel cutting station directs the keel onto the conveyor. Theintermediate conveyor 46 conveys the keel to the primary conveyor 16.

In accordance with the invention, the speed or indexing of theintermediate conveyor 46 is synchronized with the primary conveyor sothat the keel is dropped into a bin 16a of the primary conveyor wherethe other parts of a given bird are located. With this arrangement, allthe parts of a bird are packaged together.

Returning to FIG. 4, after leaving the keel cutting station, the birdsupport module rotates transversely to point the front of the birdtowards the direction of travel. The module then enters a longitudinalcutting station, indicated by the reference character 50, where the birdis cut in half. In the preferred method, the cut commences at the frontof the bird and proceeds towards the rear. It has been found, that withthis cutting sequence, a more uniform and accurate cut can be made.Since the backbone is thicker at the front of the bird, it is believedthat once the cutter enters and begins cutting the backbonelongitudinally, the backbone itself acts to steer or maintain alignmentof the bird with the blade.

After leaving the station 50, the holding module 24 then travels to atransverse cutting station 52 where the legs are severed from the restof the bird. In order to achieve this cut, the module 24 is preferablyrotated so that the legs of the bird are uppermost. The module thentravels to a leg cutting station 54 where the lower part of the leg issevered from the thigh. After leaving the leg cutting station 54, thebird cutting sequence is completed and the module travels to anunloading station 56 where the holding module 24 releases the bird partsonto the conveyor 16. The funnel 14 (shown in FIG. 1) directs the partsinto a bin 16b. As indicated above, the conveyor transports the birdparts to a bagging machine (indicated generally by the referencecharacter 18 in FIG. 1). As the bin 16b passes the intermediate conveyor46, the keel of the bird (which was previously severed at the keelcutting station) is reunited with the other parts of the bird so thatall nine pieces arrive together at the bagging apparatus.

Turning now to FIGS. 5-8, the apparatus for severing the keel at thekeel cutting station is illustrated. In accordance with the invention,the apparatus preferably comprises a first cutter 60 (shown in FIG. 5).In the illustrated embodiment, the cutter comprises an electricallydriven circular knife 61 disposed at an angle with respect to the birdholding module 24. As indicated in FIG. 4, prior to passing the cutter60, the module 24 is oriented so that the legs of the bird areuppermost. As the module 24 passes the cutter 60, the knife 61 severs aportion of the keel from the rest of the bird as the bird is carried bythe rotating knife. In the preferred method, the rotating knife ispositioned at an angle (as shown in FIG. 5) with respect to the moduleand is adjusted such that the cut is made into a fleshy part of the birdand does not cut the sternum or other bone structure of the bird.

Turning now to FIGS. 6-8, a second cut is made by a reciprocating cutter62 which in the preferred and illustrated embodiment includes a rotatingknife 64. As seen best in FIGS. 6 and 7, the rotating knife 64 isattached to a spindle 66 rotatably supported by a bearing housing 68 anddriven by a drive belt 70 reeved around a driven pulley 72 mounted atthe opposite end of the spindle. The bearing housin9 68 is supported byan arm 76 which in turn is pivotally attached to a perimeter framemember 80 forming part of the cutting machine. As seen best in FIGS. 7and 8, the cutting machine includes a radially disposed support framemember 82 which joins the perimeter frame member 80.

A pivot assembly 86 pivotally supports the arm 76. As seen best in FIG.7, the pivot axis 86a of the pivot assembly 86 is located in a verticalplane that is parallel to a longitudinal centerline of the radial framemember 82 and thus the axis 86a is directed radially with respect to theturret assembly. However, as seen in FIG. 8, the axis 86a of the pivotis tilted downwardly and defines an acute angle with respect to arotational plane defined by the turret assembly. As seen best in FIG. 6,with the disclosed arrangement, the rotating knife 64 is tilted at asimilar angle with respect to the module 24 and defines an angular pathof movement for the rotating knife towards and away from the module 24so that an inwardly directed cut is made on the bird whenever thebearing housing 68 moves upwardly (as viewed in FIG. 6) about the pivot86. It has been found that a pivot axis 86a oriented at an angle ofsubstantially 16° with respect to the horizontal frame members providesa desired cutting angle.

Driving the rotating knife 64 can be accomplished by a variety ofmechanisms. In the disclosed embodiment, the drive belt 70 extendsbetween the driven pulley 72 and a drive pulley 96 forming part of adrive motor 98. In the illustrated embodiment, the drive motor isattached to a support arm 100 which in turn is attached to the pivotassembly 86. As a result, the drive motor is reciprocated with thecutter. Alternate arrangements can be utilized which could include amotor mounted to the frame structure, which would not reciprocate withthe cutter mechanism.

The mechanism for reciprocating the cutter assembly 62 towards and awayfrom the bird is best shown in FIG. 8. A connecting rod 102 extends fromthe cutter support arm 76 down to a crank mechanism indicated generallyby the reference character 106. Preferably the ends of the connectingrod mount spherical bearing assemblies 104 so that angular movement ofthe cutter assembly 62 can be accommodated. The spherical bearingassemblies are threadedly received by the connecting rod 102 and providea length adjustment. In the preferred embodiment, the connecting rod 102is driven by a one revolution clutch mechanism (not shown) which drivesa crank 108. Various clutch/brake mechanisms are available that can beused to effect the synchronized reciprocation of the cutter assembly 62.In the apparatus shown, a switch 112 is used to sense the position ofthe crank 108 and provide for a single crank revolution. When the clutch(not shown) is energized, the crank 108 begins rotating, disengages theswitch 112 and drives the connecting rod 102 upwardly. As the crank 108returns to its start position, the switch 112 is reclosed, indicatingthe completion of a cutting cycle. The reclosure of the switch 112 inconnection with control circuitry (not shown) deenergizes the driveclutch and energizes the brake to arrest further motion in the crank108.

The switch forms part of a control system which causes one revolution ofthe crank whenever a cutting cycle is desired. As seen best in FIG. 8,the single revolution of the crank produces reciprocating pivotal motionin the rotating knife 64 along a path indicated by the arrow 114. Thelimits of the arc through which the rotating knife is driven aredetermined at least in part by the crank arm 108. The plane ofreciprocating motion for the rotating knife 64 is determined by theorientation of the pivot 86a axis as well as the relative angle definedbetween the pivot axis and the rotational axis of the knife (which is afunction of the support arm 76). In the preferred embodiment, the cuttersupport arm 76 mounts the cutter 62 such that viewed in plan (as shownin FIG. 7), the axis of rotation for the blade 64 is parallel to aradial line of the turret assembly.

As indicated previously, in the preferred embodiment, the bird holdingmodules 24 are moved continuously, through the cutting stations by theturret assembly. Each module 24 moves transversely, as indicated by thereference character 104 in FIG. 8, relative to the stationary keelcutter 60 shown in FIG. 5. According to the invention, the operatingmechanism for the reciprocating cutter 62 is arranged to move therotating knife 64 along a path such that its motion is synchronized withthe moving module 24. The preferred movement is illustratedschematically in FIG. 4. In particular, the pivot axis of the supportarm 76 and the actuation speed of the crank 108 are adjusted so that thetransverse component of the angular motion of the cutter 62 issubstantially equal to the speed of the module 24 so that the rotatingknife remains vertically aligned with the module and relative movementbetween the module and the knife occurs substantially only in a verticaldirection.

As seen in FIG. 4, as the module 24 passes by the second keel cutter 62,during the cutting sequence, it moves between a position 119 (indicatedin phantom) and a position 121 (indicated in solid). As the moduletravels between these two positions, the cutter 62 is reciprocated todisplace the associated knife 64 between a position 123 (indicated inphanton) and a position 125 (indicated in solid). As seen in FIG. 4, thetransverse component of movement in the knife 64 corresponds to thedisplacement of the module 24 so that, as viewed in plan, the axis ofthe knife 64 remains substantially aligned with the module 24. With thedisclosed apparatus, the cut made by the keel cutting mechanism 62approximates the kind of cut that would occur if the module werestationary and a rotating knife were moved towards and away from thebird along a rectilinear path. In order to maintain synchronization, thedrive motors for both the module turret assembly and the crank mechanismare synchronized by a suitable control circuit, known in the art, sothat speed changes in one of the motors causes a proportional speedchange in the other.

As seen in FIG. 8, the drive motor for the rotating knife is mounted tothe motor support arm 100 which extends to the left of the pivotassembly 86. With this arrangement, the motor also moves when the cutter62 is actuated. Other mounting arrangements are also contemplated inwhich the motor would be stationary and a suitable drive connection madeto the pivotally mounted cutter assembly.

Turning now to FIG. 7, the rotating knife 64 is movable towards and awayfrom the module 24, along its axis of rotation to compensate forvariations in bird size as indicated by the arrow 105. As indicatedabove, the spindle 66 to which the knife 64 is mounted is rotatably heldby the bearing housing 68. The spindle itself is supported by bearings122 which are slidably mounted in the bearing housing 68. An actuatormechanism indicated generally by the reference character 124 isoperative to extend and retract the bearings 122 with respect to thebearing housing 68.

In particular, the mechanism 124 includes a pair of fluid pressureoperated actuators 126, 128 coupled together by a coupling 130. Theactuators include respective actuating rods 126a, 128a. Each rod mountsa stop 132 which limits the retraction of its associated actuating rod.The actuating rod 126a of the actuator 126 is pivotally connected to themotor support arm 100 at a pivot 132. The actuating rod 128a of theactuator 128 is pivotally connected to a triangular linkage member 136which includes a slot 136a adapted to receive a pin 138 that isconnected to the bearing assembly 122. The pin 138 extends through aslot 140 formed in the bearing housing and thus prevents rotation of thebearing assembly 122. The linkage member 136 is pivotally connected tothe cutter support arm 76. In particular, a pivot 143 is adjustable andincludes an adjustment knob 144 which via a linking rod 146 provides formoving the pivot towards and away from the plane of the rotating knife64. It should be apparent that for fixed positions of the actuator rods126a, 128a, movement of the pivot 143 via the adjustment will causepositional changes in the bearing assembly 122 and hence the position ofthe rotating knife relative to the holding module 24. The purpose of theadjustment is to initially preset the position of the rotating knife 64.

The disclosed actuator arrangement provides for three discrete positionsfor the rotating knife relative to the module. As indicated above, priorto entering the keel cutting station, the holding module 24 carries thebird through the size monitoring station 40. Referring also to FIG. 4,in the disclosed embodiment, the monitoring station includes a pair ofsensors 40a, 40b which, for example, may comprise switches selectlvelyactuatable by a bird as it is carried through the sensing station 40.With the disclosed sensing system, three discrete bird sizes can besensed. It must be understood that the present invention alsocontemplates a continuous sensor of the type that would sense any sizebird which in accordance with a suitable control system, would adjustthe position of the rotating knife 64 to compensate for even smallvariations in bird sizes. It has been found, however, that an adjustingmechanism that positions the knife 64 at one of three positions canprovide satisfactory results for most applications.

The disclosed sensing and knife adjusting system operates as follows. Ifboth switches 40a, 40b are activated by the bird as it passes throughthe size monitoring station 40, the actuating rods 126a, 128a are bothextended to in effect increase the overall length of the linkage armformed by the two cylinders. In other words, when the actuating rodsextend, the triangular link 136 is rotated clockwise (as viewed in FIG.7) and drives the bearing assembly 128 leftwardly thus increasing thedistance between the rotating blade 64 and the holding module 24. Whenboth switches 40a, 40b are actuated it indicates that the module iscarrying a large sized bird and the breast section to be severed extendsoutwardly a greater distance from the module.

If neither of the switches 40a, 40b are actuated, indicating thepresence of a small bird, both actuating rods 126a, 128a are retractedthus decreasing the distance between the stationary pivot 132 on the arm100 and the coupling link 136. Retraction of the actuating rods 126a,128a causes counterclockwise rotation of the coupling link 136 anddrives the bearing assembly 122 rightwardly thus positioning therotating knife 64 closer to the module 24.

If only the switch 40a is actuated, indicating the presence of anintermediate sized bird, one of the actuating rods 126a, 128a isextended while the other of the actuating rods is retracted thusdefining an intermediate length between the stationary pivot 132 and thecoupling link 136. This positions the knife 64 at an intermediateposition relative to the module 24.

For many if not most bird cutting applications, the birds are grouped bysize prior to processing. The birds of a given group often vary inweight by only a few ounces and hence the size variation between thebirds of a group can be easily accommodated by the three position knifeactuating system. In practice, the initial position of the knife 64 isadjusted by the manual control 144. For example, with both actuatorsextended as shown in FIG. 7, the manual adjustment 144 would bemanipulated to move the knife 64 to the position it should assume toprovide a proper cut on the largest expected bird size. The intermediateand forwardmost positions can then also be adjusted for the range ofbird sizes expected, by adjusting the positions of the stops on theextension rods 126a, 128a.

The keel cutting apparatus disclosed above has been found to provideextremely accurate and consistent cuts and meets the rather stringentspecifications for cutting chicken parts for the fast food industry.

It has been found that cutting the wings prior to cutting the keelimproves the consistency of the keel cutting step. It is believed thatsevering the wings from the bird reduces tensions in the breast area ofthe bird, thus improving the severance of the keel. As indicated above,the wings are clamped to the module 24. As an alternative to cutting thewings prior to the keel cutting station, the wing clamping mechanism canbe relaxed during the keel cutting operation in order to improve theconsistency with which the cut is made, should severing of the wingsafter the keel cutting operation be desired.

It is also believed that the consistency with which the keel sections ofthe bird can be severed is achieved due to the method of actuating thesecond cutter 62. Although in the preferred embodiment, the cutter ispivotally mounted and synchronized with the moving module 24,alternative arrangements are contemplated in which the rotating knifewould be reciprocated along a rectilinear path relative to the module 24towards and away from the lower front section of the bird.

Returning to FIG. 1, as described above, in the preferred embodiment,the keel is severed at a keel cutting station 42 and drops onto anintermediate conveyor 46 which conveyors the severed keel to the primaryconveyor 16 and reunites it with the other severed poultry parts. Theconveyor 16 moves leftwardly, as viewed in FIG. 1, and as indicated bythe arrow 160 to transfer the parts to a bagging apparatus 18. With thepreferred arrangement, the wings are severed prior to the keel cuttingoperation.

An alternate cutting sequence is also contemplated that could eliminatethe need for the intermediate conveyor 46. In the alternate arrangement,the keel cutting station is moved so that it is the first station in thecutting sequence, i.e. the position now occupied by the wing cuttingstation 34 in FIG. 4. In the alternate arrangement, the conveyor 16 andbagging apparatus 18 will be repositioned so that the conveyor 16 movesrightwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and the bagger 18 is positioned to theright of the cutting machine 10. With this alternate arrangement, thekeel would be severed at the first cutting station and drop directlyonto the primary conveyor 16. The motion in the conveyor 16 would thenbe synchronized so that as the keel moves rightwardly in a conveyor bin16a it would arrive at the unloading station 14 as the other severedpoultry parts were discharged thereby reuniting the keel with the restof the carcass. As indicated above, in order to provide consistent keelcutting, the wings would have to be relaxed during the keel cuttingoperation to relieve tensions in the breast area to provide an accuratecut.

Turning now to FIG. 9, a guiding apparatus 170 is illustrated forsupporting a carcass during a longitudinal cutting sequence when thecarcass is to be cut into eight individual pieces. In a "eight piececut" the keel is not severed from the carcass. Instead, after the wingcutting step at station 38 (see FIG. 4) the carcass is splitlongitudinally at the cutting station 50. The guiding apparatus 70supports and guides the carcass during the splitting operation.

As seen in FIG. 9, the cutting station 50 includes a stationary cutter172 including a transversely positioned rotating knife 174. The guide170 is positioned in alignment with the knife 174, immediately upstreamof the cutting station. The guide comprises a support member 176 thatmounts a pair of arms 178, 180. The arms 178, 180 are pivotallyconnected and each arm mounts an associated guide wheel 182. Theopposite ends of each arm 178, 180 are joined to respective links 184,186. The links 184, 186 are pivotally connected together by a pin 188that extends through a slot 190 formed in the support member. The pin inturn is connected to a tension spring 196 which pulls the linksrightwardly (as viewed in FIG. 9) and thus urges the guide wheels 182towards each other. The guide mechanism 170 is positioned so that as thecarcass is carried by the module 24 past the guide, the rollers 182engage and guide the breast bone of the carcass to maintain alignment ofthe carcass with the rotating knife 174. With the disclosed mechanism,accurate, longitudinal cuts can be achieved.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it should be understood that various changes can be madeto it by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

We claim:
 1. An adjustable knife for use in a bird carcass cuttingsystem, comprising:(a) a circular knife mounted to a rotatable spindle;(b) a bearing means rotatably supporting said spindle; (c) a bearinghousing slidably supporting said bearing means; (d) a pair ofinterconnected, fluid pressure operated actuators, each actuatorincluding an associated actuator rod; (e) the actuating rod of one ofsaid actuators coupled to said bearing means, the actuating rod of theother of said actuators connected to a remote pivot, such that saidactuators and actuating rods define a linkage arm between said remotepivot and said bearing means, and (f) means for selectively actuatingsaid actuators to extend and retract the actuating rods of saidactuators whereby the length of said linkage arm defined by saidactuators is changed in discrete steps thereby to move said bearingmeans relative to said bearing housing.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1further including an adjustable stop means on at least one of saidactuating rods to define the limits of retraction for said rod.